BOULDER – The No. 13 Colorado Buffaloes women’s basketball team got back on track after taking down the Washington Huskies 68-62 here at the CU Events Center Thursday night.

After a four-game skid, the Buffs (22-7, 12-6 Pac-12) averted a late comeback bid made by the Huskies (15-13, 5-12 Pac-12) to return home with a win. Eight of nine Colorado players who saw game action converted at least one field goal in the 40 minutes.

“I was really happy with how we responded tonight,” head coach JR Payne said after the win. “A lot of different people came in and really contributed at different times.”

“Even like playing through frustration, maybe missing some shots we normally make but we kept our head in the game so that when the game was on the line, we were able to really execute and do some good things. So just proud and happy to be back in the win column. Excited to be home and happy for senior day coming up.”

Maddie Nolan led all players in scoring after cashing in on six 3-pointers (6 for 7), four of which came in the first half. She set a new Colorado career-high in scoring after recording 20 points on the night.

“It definitely felt nice,” Nolan expressed. “My teammates, as always, do a great job of finding me and you saw a couple times Jaylyn [Sherrod] kick ahead to me in transition and I passed it back but it’s nice to play with people that know where you are on the floor and are always looking for you.”

Frida Formann was also a big contributor offensively, catching fire in the second quarter with 10 points and helping the Buffs gain a comfortable lead in the first half. A big difference-maker was Colorado’s ability to share the ball, especially from Tameiya Sadler and Kindyll Wetta who each recorded five assists.

The Buffs seemed to have more depth than the Huskies here Thursday night, outscoring Washington 15 to 0 in bench points. Despite committing 17 turnovers, Colorado fended off scoring runs made by the Huskies to secure the victory in Boulder.

Colorado will be back at the CU Events Center on Saturday to faceoff against Washington State at 1 p.m.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Buffs and Huskies fought to a 7-7 start at the first media timeout of the game. Out of the break, Sadler converted on a second-chance layup before Nolan hit a 3-pointer to give Colorado a 12-7 lead.

Washington responded with a 3-pointer of its own, but Nolan knocked down another to keep the five-point advantage. The Buffs held an 18-12 lead after the first quarter while having five different players score at least one point. Nolan led CU in scoring in the first with nine points on three 3-pointers.

The Huskies called a timeout with 7:20 remaining in the second quarter following a bucket from Nolan to put the Buffs up eight at 24-16. Both teams went on a scoring drought for over two minutes before Sadler made a layup with under five minutes to go in the half.

Nolan hit her fourth 3 of the game with 26 seconds left on the clock to give Colorado its largest lead of the game at 39-28. The Buffs led by 11 at halftime behind Nolan’s 14 points and Formann’s 10 second quarter points.

A quick 6-0 scoring run on back-to-back 3s by Wetta and Nolan put the Buffs up 49-34, forcing an early Washington timeout. Shortly after the timeout, the Huskies scored seven unanswered to come within eight.

In the fourth quarter, UW made a late comeback, making it a five-point game with under a minute remaining. The Buffs called a timeout after the 7-0 Washington run with a 65-59 lead.
After the timeout, there wasn’t enough time for the Huskies to overcome the Colorado lead as the Buffs won 68-62.

KEY MOMENT
With seven minutes left in the third quarter, back-to-back 3-pointers from Wetta and Nolan put the Buffs up by 15 to force a Washington timeout.

NEXT
No. 13 Colorado will take on the Washington State Cougars on Saturday, March 2 at 1 p.m. MT.

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Story by Colin Wagner, Athletic Communications Associate for CUBuffs.com. Content courtesy of the University of Colorado at Boulder.